Bad Tidings
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: With the New Year, Mike receives some bad news about an old problem.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Almighty Johnsons or any of its characters. Also, I'm not defending Anders using his powers to seduce women. Not even going to try to analyze that.I'm just filling a prompt on the kink meme where it was Val who came onto Anders and saying that, in this specific case, it might not have been Anders who did the seducing. Also, this is my first Almighty Johnsons' fic and I haven't seen all the episodes so I'm not sure if I got the characters right. Any constructive criticism is welcome.

"What is he doing here?" Valerie hissed in his ear.

Mike flinched. "I invited him."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"It's New Years and he's my brother." Mike said slowly.

To tell the truth, Mike wasn't sure why he had invited Anders. Usually he had as little to do with his younger brother as possible. But now that Axl was Odin, Mike and Anders have been seeing each other more often than usual. Working together to find the Frigg (even if Anders had his own idea of how that was to be done). And, as much as Mike hated to admit it, some, if not all, of the Johnson brothers would be either dead or in prison if it hadn't been for Ander's help. Whether or not Anders was doing that because he cared about them or because Anders wanted to stay alive and gain his full powers Mike hadn't figured out yet. But Mike guessed that a part of him hoped that Anders' motives are at least partly altruistic. Anyway, it just didn't feel right not inviting him (even though Anders hadn't been actually invited to their house in years) and somehow Mike didn't think Anders would be stupid enough to go in for seconds.

"Mike-"

"It's just one night." Mike assured her.

"It better be." She huffed.

It would be alright, Michael told himself. After all, what harm could one night as a family do?

…..

Mike kept an eye on Anders for most of the night but, for once, Anders actually behaved himself fairly well, considering he was...well, Anders. The second oldest Johnson brother spent the night around the cooler, downing alcoholic beverages that Mike could barely even think about mixing without feeling sick to his stomach. He chatted with Ty and Axl. He might have flirted with a few of Val's friends, but didn't disappear into the guest bedroom with anyone. After careful consideration, Mike allowed himself to become distracted, trusting his younger brothers to keep Anders in check. He still glances over every now and then, just to be on the safe side. But Anders seems determined to spend the night getting drunk and talking with his brothers and anyone else who stops by the cooler to pick up a beverage.

…..

Before Mike knew it it was 11:59 and the guests started counting down the seconds until the New Year.

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" There were cheers as the clock turned and everyone started toasting one another.

Almost simultaneously, Mike heard a loud thump from the general direction of the cooler. With a sense of dread, he turned his head. What he saw both amused and exasperated him. Anders lay on the floor, face soaked with beer, and trying to dig another drink from the cooler without getting up. Ty was bending over him, both trying to keep the cooler out of his reach and trying to pick him up.

"Come on, Anders!" Ty sighed reaching down to scoop his older brother off the floor. "I think you've had enough."

"Mmm...no…" Anders laughed, knocking Ty's hands away. "cold hands…"

Ty snorted. "Good, maybe they'll sober you up a bit."

"Don' need more sobeer ju' need more beer!" Anders groaned, still trying to scoot away from Ty and into the cooler.

"Not gonna happen." Ty told him, still trying unsuccessfully to grab Anders' arm. "At least get off the floor!"

"Mmmm…" Anders looked up, as if he was thinking about this. "Okay." He rolled over onto his stomach and tried to rise to his feet, only to slide forward into the puddle of spilled beer.

"Here," Ty sighed, bending down. "let me help."

"Don' wan' you. Wan' Mike." Anders muttered, scooting away.

Ty looked across the room at Mike, sending a silent plea for help. Not sure whether to groan or to chuckle, Mike decided to help him out. Crossing the room until he was at his brothers' sides, he bent down and took hold of Anders' shoulders

"Come on, let's get you on your feet!" Mike said, as he hauled his brother to his feet.

"Mike!" Anders practically shouted. "Tha's butter!" He made a sound as if he was thinking about what he just said and then burst out laughing as if he'd made the best joke of the night. "Ty's bein' mean. S' not lettin' me drink!"

"I think you've had enough already." Mike told him.

"Please?"

"No more."

"You're no fun!" Anders pouted. When Mike just snorted, Anders sighed. " 'kay. If you can' drink then I wanna go home."

"Why so you can drink there?" TY scoffed.

"Shhhh!" Anders hissed. "Mike's listening!"

"Okay." Mike carried Anders over to the nearest couch and sat him down. "I think you should rest here, close your eyes, and wait until Axl or Ty are leaving."

"Why?"

"So we can drive you home, stupid." Ty rolled his eyes.

Anders blinked up at them in confusion. "Tha's okay." He began fumbling in his pocket. "I've got a car."

"NO!" Mike and Ty said together.

"No." Mike rolled his eyes. "You're not driving. If you want to go now, I'll drive you home. Just let me tell Val and get my keys." It gave him an excuse not to play host for fifteen minutes or so and it ensured that his baby brother wouldn't go out and kill himself.

"You're coming with me?" Anders' eyes lit up.

"Yeah, but only long enough to drop you off and hide your liquor and keys."

"Tha's great!" Anders gave Mike a beatific smile. "Maybe we can 'ave a few drinks 'fore you go! You neva' come over anymore."

Mike exchanges an exasperated look with Ty. There's something Mike could say to that, but all he says is. "Maybe." He'd rather not fight tonight.

"Good." Anders replies." Zo', who's drivin'?"

….

Half an hour and many regrets later, Mike managed to steal Anders' key out of his pocket and let them into Anders' apartment. After managing to get through the door and into the bedroom, Mike pried his brother's arms off from around his waist and dropped him onto the bed before turning to look through the room for any drugs and alcohol he could find.

Once Mike was sure he had everything, he made his way into the living room to continue his search.

" 'ey! Where you goin'?" Anders called after him.

"To hide your drinks." After doing a thorough scan of every room, Mike dumped everything in the dishwasher and placed Anders' keys on top of the refrigerator.

"Hey, Anders!" Mike called, going back into the bedroom. "Bet you can't anything I hid."

Anders chuckled. " m'not that drunk." He paused. " ow' much?"

"A few drinks at whatever bar you want."

"Mmm… bet I'll find'em." Anders started to get up, but Mike placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Woah, there. Not now. Tomorrow." Mike would call Anders in the morning and tell him where he'd put everything. "I've got to go."

"Why? Thought' ee were gonna 'ave a dring. Drung. Drink!"

"Yeah, well, I've got to help Val with the clean-up. Talk to you tomorrow." Mike patted Anders' shoulder and started to turn away, only to have his arm grabbed faster than any drunk should be able to move.

"Wait!" Mike turned back and was surprised to see fear in his brother's eyes. "Shouldn' go back! She could'urt you!"

"Who could?"

"Val. Th'way she hurt me."

Mike narrowed his eyes. "When did Val hurt you?"

"You know."

"No, I don't. When?" He couldn't remember the last time Valerie had even seen Anders before tonight. At least when he wasn't there.

" 'ou walked in on'it."

Mike sighed. "Look, you're drunk Anders. You-"

"Don' wan' 'er to hurt 'ou."

"And I appreciate that, but you using your voice to convince Val to sleep with you doesn't qualify as her hurting you. Now-"

"Didn' have to use it. Nod much."

Mike swallowed and pulled his arm away. "I think I should leave before you say anything you might regret." He's halfway to the door when Anders speaks up again.

" Jus' wanded her to stop."

"Stop what?"

"Though'she'd stop if I jus' gave'in."

That can't be right, Mike thought, even though there's an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. Anders was drunk. He either didn't know what he was saying or (more likely) was just making things up. Mike should just go home. "Stop what?" He asked, instead.

"Touchin' me. Tol' er to stop, bu' she wouldn'. Said she'd tell 'ou I cam'on to 'er."

No. That couldn't be right. Val wouldn't... "Anders, what are you saying?"

"Mmm…"

Mike turned around. Anders had closed his eyes."Anders?" Mike walked back over to the bed. "Hey, Anders, wake up."

Anders blinked his eyes open "Wha'?"

"What were you telling me?"

"Mmm…" Anders frowned. "Tha's a secret."

"This is important Anders!" Mike growled.

Anders shook his head. "Jus' be careful. Don' wan' er to hurt you." He closed his eyes again, and this time Mike couldn't shake him awake.

"I'll be careful." Mike sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own the Almighty Johnsons or any of its characters. Also, I'm not defending Anders using his powers to seduce women. Not even going to try to analyze that.I'm just filling a prompt on the kink meme where it was Val who came onto Anders and saying that, in this specific case, it might not have been Anders who did the seducing. Also, this is my first Almighty Johnsons' fic and I haven't seen all the episodes so I'm not sure if I got the characters right. Any constructive criticism is welcome.

The guests were already filtering out by the time Mike got home. He did his best to try to act cheerful, but he couldn't get what Anders' had told him out of his mind. However, he found he couldn't. Val had been his wife for years and she had never done anything to make him suspect her of anything so horrible as what Anders had accused her of. Anders, on the other hand, used his voice to at best, seduce, and at worst, rape women on an almost daily basis. Mike should have been able to dismiss this as another episode of Anders' drunken ramblings. But the eldest Johnson couldn't get the look of fear that was in Anders' eyes out of his head. No matter what he told himself, Mike knew that, in that moment, Anders was fully convinced that Mike was heading into danger. And that bothered him. Mike hadn't seen Anders that afraid in years.

The unease only increased as the night went on. Mike told himself that he should just wait until the next morning. He could ask Anders about it then and, chances were, it would just be a misunderstanding. But Mike found he couldn't. The thought of what Anders had suggested….Val had never given him any reason to suspect...well, anything like that, but he found he couldn't spend the night next to her until he knew for sure.

He waited until they had cleaned up and were getting ready for bed. Val had already changed into her pajamas, brushed her teeth, and was getting ready to climb into bed. Mike couldn't think of an easy way to broach the topic so he decided to just come out and say it.

"Val?"

"Yeah?" She gave him a tired smile.

"I've got something I need to ask you."

"Okay."

"When you...at that party...years ago...did you...rape Anders?" Mike fully expected her to slap him. To ask him how he could have possibly ask her that. To yell at him. He fully expected to have to get down on his knees and beg for her to forgive him.

Instead, she looks shocked. And then nervous. "Why...why would you ask me that, Mike?"

"I just...did you?"  
>"Mike...I don't know why you're doing this."<p>

With every word she said, Mike's heart sank. "Val, I just...I need to know."

"But that...that was...why would you ask me now?"  
>"Just answer me. Please." Mike would do anything if he could just get an honest denial out of her.<p>

Instead she just looked at him for a moment. "Did Anders say something?"

Mike cursed. "I...how could you…?"

"It...it was a long time ago, Mike. It wasn't...he consented…"

"And what about all the other times?" Mike forced himself to ask.

"I-I didn't rape him!" She insisted. "I just...I just flirted with him a bit! I'm sure he wanted it!"

"Did you touch him?"

"Maybe a little." Val swallowed. "But Mike...you know how men are at that age! He didn't mind!"

"Did he tell you to stop?"

"I...Mike...this was ages ago! I just-"

"Val...I can't...why?"

"I don't know! We'd just gotten together...he's hot...I just….he didn't mean anything, Mike! I don't love him, I love you!"

Mike had heard enough. He couldn't deal with her now or he'd...he didn't know what he'd do. He grabbed his wallet off the night table and turned away. "I'm going to spend the night at Anders'. I want you out by tomorrow night."

"What?" She had the nerve to sound shocked. "Mike I-"

"Don't!" He snapped. "Did you honestly think I'd stay with you after...after this?"

"Mike, I-"  
>Mike didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he headed towards the kitchen, scooped up any money and credit cards that were in the drawer, and grabbed his keys. He'd worry about the divorce proceedings in the morning. Right now, he had a long overdue apology to make.<p>

…..

The shortest Johnson was still passed out when Mike let himself into Anders' flat. To look at Anders sleeping with his mouth open and a pillow wrapped in his arms, no one would have thought that he was Bragi incarnate. Asleep, he looked like he didn't have care in the world.

Mike thought about waking him, but decided to let Anders sleep. It was Mike's fault that Anders had these memories in the first place. The least Mike could do is let him avoid them for a few more hours. Trying not to wake his brother, Mike slid into bed next to him. Of course his efforts were for naught.  
>" 'ey, Mike!" Anders slurred, eyes blinking open. " 'ou came ba-back!"<p>

"Yeah. Thought I'd spend the night."  
>"Lika slober pardy?"<p>

"Yeah. Now go to sleep, okay?"

"Bu' wha' if Val comes ova?"

Mike felt a surge of guilt. "I'll protect you this time."  
>"Promix?"<p>

"Promise."


End file.
